House Spiders

Facts, Identification & Control

Latin Name

Parasteatoda tepidariorum



What do they look like?
house spiders

  • Size: Female common house spiders measure 5 to 8 mm in length, while males measure only 4 mm.
  • Color: Common house spiders are typically brown or gray in color, with darker chevron markings along their bodies.
  • Body: A house spider’s body is divided into the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Like scorpions, mites and ticks, house spiders are wingless.
  • Eyes: Eight, single-lens eyes
House Spider IllustratorHouse Spider Illustration

How Did I Get Common House Spiders?

Common house spiders invade homes while searching for warmth and food. They feed on small insects and love hiding inside cluttered rooms or other rarely used spaces.

Window cracks and open doors provide easy entry points, but spiders often sneak in through small holes in walls or floors.

Where do they live?

Common house spiders are abundant in dark or musty areas, such as basements, crawlspaces, attics, and closets.

How Serious Are Common House Spiders?

In general, a common house spider is harmless to humans. However, the mere sight of a spider is enough to startle most people and cause unease. Their messy webs also create the need for extra cleaning.

What Can I Do About House Spiders?

What Orkin Does

The Orkin Man™ is trained to help manage house spiders. Since every home is different, the Orkin technician will design a unique program for your situation.


The Orkin Man™ can provide the right solution to keep house spiders in their place...out of your home.


Funnel Shaped Webs




The presence of common house spiders is typically characterized by the formation of cobwebs. These silken thread structures can be found throughout infested homes. This abundance of empty webs is caused by the common house spider's propensity to spin webs in various locations until it finds the most suitable place to catch prey.

Signs of a House Spider

Signs of house spider infestations include the spider and their webs.

More Information

House Spider Life Cycle House Spider Bites House Spider Prevention Tips Types of House Spiders Brown House Spiders (Steatoda grossa) Red House Spiders (Nesticodes rufipes) Black House Spiders (Badumna insignis) Giant House Spiders (Eratigena atrica) Southern House Spiders (Kukulcania hibernalis) Domestic House Spiders (Tegenaria domestica)